New Age Movement

The New Age

• Covers a range of beliefs and activities that have been widespread since the 1980s
• Characterized by two common themes: self-spirituality (seeking spirituality and turning away from traditional religions) and detraditionalisation (valuing personal experiences over a spiritual deity)
• Often combines unrelated things in new combinations, such as believing in UFOs and tarot cards

Postmodernity and the New Age

• Drane (1999) argues that the appeal of the New Age is due to the shift towards postmodern society, causing disillusionment with traditional churches and leading people to seek truth in the New Age
• Bruce (1995) argues that the increase in New Age support is due to modern society, as individualism promoted in modern society is supported by New Age principles, and New Age beliefs are softer versions of traditional religions, appealing to Westerners
• Heelas (1996) links the New Age to modernity in four ways: as a source of identity, consumer culture, a reaction to modernity, and as a form of spirituality

Sects and Cults

• Stark and Bainbridge identify two kinds of organizations that are in conflict with wider society:
  • Sects result from schisms (splits in existing organizations), break away from churches usually due to disagreements about doctrine
  • Cults are new religions, subdivided into:
    • Audience cults (least organized, do not involve formal commitment with little interaction between members)
    • Client cults (based on the relationship between a consultant and client, provides services to their followers)
    • Cultic movements (most organized and demanding, aiming to meet all members' religious needs and rarely allowing followers to be part of other religious movements)

Explaining the Growth of Religious Movements

• Marginality: sects often arise in groups who feel deprived, offering a solution to this problem by providing a theodicy or deprivilege (a religious explanation and justification for their suffering)
• Relative Deprivation: refers to the subjective sense of being deprived, possible for a privileged person to feel deprived spiritually
• Stark and Bainbridge argue that relatively deprived people break away from churches to form sects, safeguarding the original message that had since been lost in the church
• World-rejecting sects offer the deprived compensators for the rewards they are denied, attracting the deprived, while world-accepting churches express the status and bring success to the prosperous

The Life Cycle of Sects

• Niebuhr (1929) argues that sects are world-rejecting organizations that come into existence due to schisms, are short-lived, and either die out or become denominations
• Stark and Bainbridge (1986) see religious organizations going through a cycle:
  • Schism: tension exists between those who attend church but don't feel their needs are met, leading to the formation of world-rejecting sects
  • Initial fervour: charismatic leaders cause tension between the sect and wider society
  • Denominationalism: the sect becomes more world-accepting, tension reduces, and often the leader dies
  • Establishment: the sect becomes more world-accepting, but tension reduces, and less privileged members break away to create a new sect
• Wilson (2008) argues that not all sects follow this cycle, some aiming to convert large numbers of people and rapidly becoming denominations, while others, like "Adventist" sects, believe they should remain separate from the world and thus avoid becoming denominations

Explore the key principles and characteristics of the New Age movement, including self-spirituality and detraditionalisation. Understand the diverse beliefs and activities that define this cultural phenomenon.